Player-vs-player wagering for gamers
Opinion piece on a new interactive & social layer within gaming...
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With the inevitable convergence of sports betting and gaming, I'd like to cover the product synergy that I believe will find the strongest initial traction - player-vs-player wagering.
My view on US fixed odds esports wagering, which is considered a game of chance, is bearish in the immediate term given the negative connotations around betting on minors and match fixing. Those two factors alone contribute to the disparity in state regulation compared to traditional sports.
11 states where traditional sports betting is legalized have no clear ruling on where esports stand1
However, player-vs-player wagering is a different story. Considered a game of skill and thus legal in 41 states, player-vs-player wagering in esports presents an additional engagement layer for gamers. I believe that products that function as social and/or interactivity layers across games are best poised for success in a world where gaming is becoming the new social network. Moreover, similar to the DFS and traditional sports betting relationship, I believe that player-vs-player wagering can eventually become an effective top-of-funnel tool for fixed odds esports betting as it gains adoption in the US.
The problem that most player-vs-player wagering platforms are addressing is that there’s a massive market of casual yet competitive gamers but no infrastructure for them to compete in an easy way. Platforms such as Players’ Lounge are offering this functionality in a platform agnostic way, and it’s reported that they logged $45M in total handle in 2020 while only supporting five titles. Unikrn, which is the first esports operator built entirely on blockchain, offers both player-vs-player and player-vs-self products. While a player-vs-self experience may seem self-regarding on the surface, it could serve as an additional interactivity layer in games in which one’s success is dependent on collaboration (e.g., FPS, MOBA, etc.)
To wrap it up, I’ll highlight some recent financings in the space, which include 1v1vme, whose design seems similar to Players’ Lounge but without implementing a take rate (I’d love to learn more about this biz model), and Ryu Games, who’s taking an asynchronous, mobile-focused SDK approach.
https://www.thesportsgeek.com/blog/esports-betting-legal-in-state/